Has anyone else had problems with voter registration when using a mail forwarding company that gives a legal street address. We use Good Sam in Florida but are being told by the elections people that the street address of the mail forwarding company is not legal for voting registration. We fulltime rv, we sold our home and do not have any intentions of buying another and can't figure out why we are being discrimminated against because of the lifestyle we have worked for and have chosen to live. We have state drivers licenses, vehicles registered and tagged and pay taxes in the state but are also being told that we have to file domicile/ citizenship on top of everything else. Upon moving to the state we were told to commit fraud by the DMV. We were told that we had to send ourself a letter to the campground we were staying in and bring the letter with the postmark along with marriage certificate, birth certificate, social security in order to obtain a driver license. All this inspite of our explaining over and over that we did not stay fulltime at the park but we traveled and stayed different places. We have learned that homeless are allowed to use the county courthouse addresses as legal street addresses but appears rules are made up as you go for fulltime rv'ers. The government workers blame the Homeland Security Office for all the regulations. We feel that after being born in this country, working and paying taxes in this country and going through all we went through to obtain driver licenses, vehicle tags and registrations filing a domicile/citizenship form couldn't make us anymore of a citizen.
The laws for what kind of address is required for each purpose are specific to each state. Don't expect that the rules for getting a drivers license, voting, registering vehicles, paying state income tax, etc. will be the same even in the same state. That's one of several reasons that many fulltimers use Texas and SD as their residence.
Unfortunately, there has been a large increase in voter fraud in recent years. In my birth county (Lee, FL) a TV station did a quick survey of people who said they were non citizens and could not serve jury duty (which are taken from voter registration rolls) and found 97 people who had voted (one had voted 6 times). They interviewed some of them they admitted it. Many were in the country illegally. Florida has tightened up drastically on new voter registrations and requires a government issued photo ID for voter registration. 31 states are now requiring this. Just the other day a photo journalist went to the Virginia district of Eric Holder, attorney general and was given a ballot to vote in the primary. He asked if he needed photo ID and was told not necessary. In the 2008 and 2010 ACORN did things like register the entire Dallas Cowboy team in NV. When voter cheating is going on, it dilutes the votes of us regular citizens. I had to jump through a lot of hoops to renew my drivers license. I had to show my passport and birth certificate. Hassle. but worth it. I believe most voter registration officers are reasonable people who are trying to do the right thing and you might have go see them personally. I have seen this problem on other threads. It is well intentioned to prevent all of the fraud recently, but I don't think the intent is to stop you from voting, but just to stop the cheaters. You might also have to get some type of special ballot as you are not an actual resident and may not be able to vote for say Mayor. I live within sight of a city, but outside the line. I can't vote for their officers (or pay their taxes Yeah). Call the registrar and see what they require. You should be able to vote for national office at least. You might also look at the Escapees forum and search for a solution. Good Luck
QUOTE I had to jump through a lot of hoops to renew my drivers license. I had to show my passport and birth certificate. Hassle. but worth it. Maybe worth it to some, to me it smacks of a national id - like the old WW II movies where Nazis stopped people on the street and demanded "papers". To the OP, I am afraid you are caught in the "real ID" pickle. Most states adopting real id laws will not recognize PMBs as an address, and, like you have been told, many commit fraud to acquire an address for driver's licenses, etc. I could renew my FL DL online, DW had to spend 4 hours at DMV proving her identity (marriage name change), even though all we were doing was renewing licenses we already had. I understand things are much easier in Texas and SD.
QUOTE Maybe worth it to some, to me it smacks of a national id I don't really like it either, but it is an answer to an existing major problem. There were 97 illegals voting in one county (mine) in Florida. We have 67 counties. Do the math and then remember that the 2000 presidential election was decided by less than 600 votes in Florida. We are facing organized attempts to steal elections and I take my vote very seriously. I do not want somebody not authorized to vote canceling out my vote and possibly selecting my president. Come up with a better idea on protecting our precious right to vote and let's adopt it. This full timer address should be address and hopefully it already has, but allowing wholesale cheating to solve it isn't an option. I am afraid that searching previous forums as I suggested won't really work as there are now 32 states requiring a government issued photo ID. The fact that somebody was just approved to vote Eric Holder's ballot in VA will intensify this effort. QUOTE I could renew my FL DL online, DW had to spend 4 hours at DMV The law just went into affect and all renewals will have to be done with two of the 5 or 6 documents. The FL Drivers license has been very lax in the past and once when I went in I saw people passing the test that could not speak or read any English. How could they read any signs? Lots of people here are complaints about the new rules, but the law was passed with a big majority of our elected representatives. If the cheaters were not stealing our votes, then we wouldn't have to be doing this. Maybe RV organizations like Good Sam or FMCA could get involved.
The Escapees RV Club mail service in Livingston, TX has been court tested as a legal address. The municipal authorities in the area are very full time RV'er friendly.
QUOTE(Dutch_12078 @ Apr 11 2012, 08:19 PM) [snapback]29247[/snapback] The Escapees RV Club mail service in Livingston, TX has been court tested as a legal address. The municipal authorities in the area are very full time RV'er friendly. I am finding out that Texas and South Dakota are way less of a hassle. With all we went through to get our Florida drivers license (and we had a valid Ohio license when we moved here so it wasn't like we didn't have one to begin with) I don't see how another form validating domicile/citizenship is going to make us any more of a citizen. All we want is to be legal and left to hell alone and don't feel like that is too much to ask for. I understand the concern over voter fraud and the antics of groups like Acorn but I am not receptive to laws that punish those that have done nothing but work hard, mind their own business and of course pay taxes. More than likely when it mashes the right toes something will be started to address it.
QUOTE(doubleaxlefifthwheel @ Apr 12 2012, 10:13 PM) [snapback]29252[/snapback] I am finding out that Texas and South Dakota are way less of a hassle. With all we went through to get our Florida drivers license (and we had a valid Ohio license when we moved here so it wasn't like we didn't have one to begin with) I don't see how another form validating domicile/citizenship is going to make us any more of a citizen. All we want is to be legal and left to hell alone and don't feel like that is too much to ask for. I understand the concern over voter fraud and the antics of groups like Acorn but I am not receptive to laws that punish those that have done nothing but work hard, mind their own business and of course pay taxes. More than likely when it mashes the right toes something will be started to address it. We're currently living in NY state, and we have their optional Enhanced Drivers Licenses that also serve as our passports for travel to and from Canada by land or sea. The identification requirements for the EDL are the same as those for a regular passport. I wonder if Florida would accept them as adequate proof of citizenship.
QUOTE I wonder if Florida would accept them as adequate proof of citizenship. There are 5 or 6 approved documents that can be found on line and nothing else works. Everybody (new or renewals) has to meet these requirements. I know it is a hassle, but it is caused by the people who knowing cheat the system to steal elections. Be mad at the cheaters, not Florida, who is just trying to maintain the integrity of our elections. We took a lot of heat in 2000. I for one am not willing to have my vote diluted so some dead guy can vote 3 times. I just read an article about problems in the Houston area with thousands of illegal voters. If anybody has a better idea that will save our electoral process and make it easier to register, please let it be known and I am sure it would be looked at. clicky
QUOTE(Lindsay Richards @ Apr 14 2012, 01:23 PM) [snapback]29254[/snapback] There are 5 or 6 approved documents that can be found on line and nothing else works. Everybody (new or renewals) has to meet these requirements. I know it is a hassle, but it is caused by the people who knowing cheat the system to steal elections. Be mad at the cheaters, not Florida, who is just trying to maintain the integrity of our elections. We took a lot of heat in 2000. I for one am not willing to have my vote diluted so some dead guy can vote 3 times. I just read an article about problems in the Houston area with thousands of illegal voters. If anybody has a better idea that will save our electoral process and make it easier to register, please let it be known and I am sure it would be looked at. clicky Well, so far as it relates to drivers licenses and non-driver ID's, Florida is just complying with the Department of Homeland Security's rules under the Real ID Act of 2008. One of the acceptable documents is a valid passport, and I'm just curious whether they would accept an Enhanced Drivers License that requires the same documentation as a passport to obtain, and in fact serves as a limited passport similar to a passport card, in lieu of a full passport. Florida REAL ID Dutch
For SD voter registration, people just use the address of the RV park where they stay when in that area. For Texas, Escapee's have the best address by far but there are other mail services in Texas and most DL people do accept them, or at least used to for voter registration and D/L.
